99's Friendly Mission
by Carebearmaxi
Summary: 99 is sent on a Mission alone and cannot tell Max. She encounters people that she thought she knew previously. However, one is not who he seems. Also 99 is in a precarious state, will she arrive home safely?
1. Chapter 1

99's Friendly Mission

Assignment Morning

The Chief of CONTROL was pacing back and forth behind his large wooden desk. He had a difficult decision to make. He had to decide if he should send two people on this mission or the one he knew he could count on to get the job done. The difficulty was that the agent he had in mind could be killed and would leave a husband and family. However, he knew that the problem of a female double agent and one that was particular close to the best agent doubled the Chief's anxiety. He was making his fifteenth track across the floor when his intercom signal buzzed.

"Yes, Larabee."

"99's here."

"Send her in. Thank you, Larabee," the Chief said as he released the speaker button. The Chief sat down behind his desk and folded his hands as 99 walked into his office.

Ninety-nine, Mrs. Smart, as in married to Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, was feeling rather fatigued as she entered the Chief's office. She left Max asleep in their bed at home while she got their three children off to school and then proceeded alone to headquarters. Max had just come home from a hard case yesterday and the Chief had been good enough to give him the day off. So when the Chief said he wanted to see her as soon as she came in she was wondering why. Lately, 99 had put in many hours on courier and shadow detail. Yesterday had been the first day she had had completely off in many months.

"Hi, Chief. You wanted to see me?" 99 asked as she sat on the end of Chief's desk.

"Yes. I have a mission for only you. You cannot tell Max any details. I can't say that enough."

"Well, why can't I tell Max? If I have to go away he will definitely want to know why. I have to tell him something. I'm his wife."

"Yes, 99, I do realize that. However, if Max knows any part of this mission, he'll have my head if something happens to you."

"I suppose you would not want Max to come with me," 99 stated hoping that perhaps the Chief would change his mind. However, ever since they had become parents 15 years ago, Max and 99 went on few long distance missions together. Part of the reason was the Chief's realization that the Smart children were more vulnerable to danger when neither parent was home. The other reason was the signed agreement which 99 and Max had signed into their files that they agreed not to be in the same place at the same time unless absolutely a matter of security. This agreement was written by the CONTROL's Human Resource Department and was a matter of routine when agents married and had dependent children.

"What's the mission, Chief?" 99 asked taking a chair across from the Chief's desk. She smoothed her red skirt before sitting and crossed her long legs.

"You know Agent 93 from California, Tara Meluski?"

"Of course, she was my best friend here before she was transferred to California! How is she?" 99 asked innocently.

"We have reason to believe she's a double agent for KAOS. Evidence has turned up in two hotels where she was placed on surveillance and extraction. The extractions were for two KAOS scientists who have the locations of new secret nuclear arms in China. The extractions were never made and the scientists returned to their countries without any questions or problems," the Chief said.

"How do we know the evidence shows that Agent 93 is the double agent? Maybe KAOS threatened her and she had no choice but to extricate herself from the situation." 99 could not believe that her best friend, Tara, would be a double agent. They had spent many hours together covering as models or singers.

"What do you want me to do?" 99 asked. The Chief got up from his chair and took out some necessary protective devices and explained to 99 what her ultimate mission was to be.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Danger Encountered

"CONTROL, this is Agent 99 calling CONTROL. Come in, CONTROL," 99 said quietly but urgently into her concealed transistor. Instead of a shoephone for female agents, CONTROL issued the women compact phones, lip stick phones, and one overeager female scientist even thought of a feminine product which could be used for a phone. However, that was absolutely nixed by everyone, no matter how private the use would be. Agent 99 was using instead her tried and true fingernail phone considering how far away Washington, DC, was the reception was incredible.

While 99 stashed herself behind the counter at a local boutique in Beverly Hills, California, she was multitasking as she tried to contact headquarters. She was also ensconced on surveillance of Tara Muleski, Agent 93 and best female friend of Agent 99 as well as Natalya newly christened KAOS agent.

Fortunately, 99 remained frozen and hidden from storefront view. Her cover on this assignment was a boutique manager in the bottom floor of a swanky Beverly Hills hotel for whom the only patrons were that of celebrities or persons who carried so much clout they wished to remain unknown. The real manager of the boutique had contacted CONTROL and had voiced her suspicions about the current activity of one of her models-Tara Muleski. Hence, the reason 99 was sent to California.

_Well_, 99 thought , _I haven't seen anything of Tara today nor any obviously suspicious transactions happening here. I suppose I will have to be patient. Maybe Tara, uh Natalya, will let something slip when I meet her for drinks at 7:00 p.m. I'd better call Max in an hour. It'll be 5:00 p.m. back home and he'll be home from the office by now. Oh, that's right. His shoephone is working again, so I can call him at Maxi's softball practice. _

99 fervently hoped that Max was not still mad with her having to leave on a secret mission by herself. She knew the first thing he would do was to contact the Chief and have him insure her safety. As she, herself, had explained to him, as well as Max knew himself, when he went on an assignment, there were never any guarantees that your life was not expendable. She tried to make Max see reason and then she made him stop arguing with him the only way she knew how.

"No, 99! The Chief has some nerve sending you on a mission you can't tell your husband about!"

Max had been very angry when 99 came home that day and mentioned she would be leaving in the morning for California for an interminable amount of time. She explained as best she could why the Chief was sending her, but Max was not buying it one way or another.

"Maxwell, stop! I don't pump you for answers when the Chief sends you on an assignment for which I know you may never return."

"Why? Are you hoping I don't come back one of these days, 99?" Max asked stupidly with puppy dog eyes and slightly downturned expression.

"Of course not, Max, I love you more than anything in the world."

Ninety-nine melted when Max would turn the tables on her like this. She had walked up to him and put her arms around him and held him tightly. Then she knew she had him where she wanted him. She began to nibble his ear and whispered how much she adored him. Max's resistance was broken when 99 nibbled his ear. Her breath sent chills down his spine. Max's arms pulled 99 closer and held her tighter. He kissed her then not because she had begged him to but because he knew what she was doing. Max melted like ice cream left on the counter. He then carried her upstairs and they made love, perhaps for the last time, until they heard Zach, Maxi, and Avery come home from their respective extracurricular activities.

When they told the children that their mother was going on a dangerous assignment, none of them except Maxine had questions. All the children adored their mother, but they worried more when their father accepted an assignment alone. They all loved Max, and they all knew secretly that their dad was not quite as adept as he professed himself. He had brains, but Max suffered from what they term now as Attention Deficit Disorder, so he was easily distracted and sometimes did not catch everything the enemy might be saying. The fact that he had not been killed by himself on a mission showed that the man had not lacked intelligence just attention to detail.

The Chief finally answered 99 on her fingernail phone and she gave her noneventful report. She told him of the appending appointment with Tara/Natalya and then she said she would notify him if the mission were successful.

"You call me when you're in trouble, 99," the Chief berated. "Your husband has not left more than five minutes ago reading me The Riot Act. I didn't tell him anything, but it was difficult. Before he left I had to swear to him that you would be back soon. So don't disappoint me, Missy, or I am sure your husband will shoot me."

"Ok, Chief, I will contact you with ANY further developments." 99 hung up her fingernail phone by replacing the fake nails over her own. Ninety-nine was happy that after 16 years of marriage and three children, Max still loved her and wanted to protect her. Ninety-nine could have spent the next half hour reminscing about she and Max and their life together, but other matters soon intervened. She wasted little time on distracting thoughts of her and Max's last time together because she knew that KAOS was going to make their move soon.

After replacing her fingernails, she came out of the phone booth where she had been hiding in the event that someone saw her talking to her fingers. There was a strange man in the boutique now. Strange but standard KAOS detail was how the man was dressed from head to toe: black trench coat, dark glasses, and black fedora. Apparently the agent thought she had not seen him and was now getting ready to shoot her. Well, 99 would surprise him. She surreptitiously retrieved her small red pistol from the pocket of her suit jacket and quietly walked up to the man sticking him in the back with the barrel of her gun.

"Don't move. You're under arrest, Solitaya. Drop the gun," 99 said quietly. Solitaya, a notorious KAOS assassin dropped the gun on the floor as 99 said. However, as 99 bent down to retrieve the gun, she was hit in the back of the neck with a pistol butt. Ninety-nine, though thin and frail looking, had borne three children with little medical help and had been an agent too long not to be able to stay conscious long enough to identify her killers.

"Tara…"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Back at Home

Max was worried. He had not heard from his wife since the day she left for California. He had expected her phone call while he was sitting at Maxi's softball practice. He looked at his watch. It was now almost 8:00 p.m. and practice was ending.

"Dad, did you see my triple?" Maxi asked her father excitedly. She hated when one of her parents were on an assignment because their attention was never fully on her and her accomplishments. She realized her parents had a dangerous job and she was proud of them. However, once in a while, she would like to look up at the bleachers and not notice that her father or mother sit fidgeting with their watch and impatiently waiting for the other to call. However, both her parents always put on a good front. It worked until she was about 8 ½ years old. Now at 15, it was getting a bit too hokey and false.

"Of course, I did, sweetheart! That was wonderful. That rightfielder had no chance to get the ball," Max said squeezing his equipment laden darling daughter.

"Dad, I didn't get a triple. I tripped trying to steal second base. Next time pay attention, dad," Maxi admonished. As the elder twin by two minutes, she considered herself the oldest of the three Smart children. There were times, though, that she was like Max. She constantly found herself not paying attention and tripping and running into things at the most embarrassing moments. Mom always placated her by asking if she was ok and never throwing it in her face that she was not graceful, nor tall, nor as beautiful as she. Maxi loved her dad, but she was never blind to his clumsiness because she had inherited that from Max.

"I'll watch better next time, sweetheart. You're a great player." Max said giving Maxi one more squeeze with a kiss to her sweaty forehead. Max was a prodigiously proud father of all his children. However, he was also a very worried and harried husband. He never liked when one of them had to be away from local assignments for any amount of time. Max knew he had served enough lonely time as a spy when he was single and after 99 became his partner at work as well as life to know that he never wanted to be alone again.

"Dad, didn't mom call?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Because we've been here for two hours and you haven't taken your eyes away from your watch nor your ear away from your shoephone." Maxi stated firmly.

"Let's sit down here for a minute, sweetie," Max said taking Maxi's glove, bat, hat, and cleats out of her arms. Maxi was now standing in her flip flops she favored after spending two to three hours in boys' cleats. Max stared a minute at his daughter has they made their way to the bleachers. She was growing up so fast . She won't be able to wear that uniform much longer. She's become too well endowed and it barely buttons. 99 ought to see this. Max's paternal instinct took over upon seeing Maxi busting out of her shirt and put his suit jacket over her shoulders and buttoned it to cover.

"Dad! Stop it! I'm fine. Besides, I have hips and your jacket doesn't fit over them. I'm a girl, remember?" Maxi complained.

"All right, all right, missy. Just put it around your shoulders then. It's getting chilly anyway," Max said placing the jacket over Maxi's shoulders.

They came to the spot where Max had been previously sitting.

Max looked at his watch and then bent down for his shoe. Then on second thought there were too many people milling around so he decided he would contact CONTROL later when he was home. After putting his shoephone on again, he looked at his daughter abashedly.

"No, your mother hasn't called in answer to your question. Grandpa Chief wouldn't tell me a thing, so it makes me believe that your mother is in danger. Now I know she can handle herself or the Chief would never have sent her. However, it doesn't make me worry nonetheless."

"Why don't you call her?" Maxi asked logically.

"No, I can't. She'll think I'm checking up on her."

"Well, aren't you? Honestly, dad, sometimes you and mom drive me nuts," Maxi said shaking her head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Max said beginning to take umbrage at his teenage daughter's attitude. She and her brothers better watch themselves. Max and 99 taught their children right from wrong but when it came to discipline Max was the softer hearted. He had endured too much abuse as a child to ever inflict anything remotely resembling abuse to his own children. 99 understood better and she had always insisted that you could not be a good father unless once in a while you showed a little "tough love". Children would constantly test you, she said. Now that they had three teenagers because Avery would be thirteen in just a few months, they especially had to be aware as parents.

"Sometimes the most obvious answer is right in front of you. Call mom. If you don't get an answer or some other answer then get worried and call headquarters. Geez… do I have to think of everything?" Maxi said rolling her eyes in the same way her mother always did when she was losing patience with them.

"You're right, Maxine. I'll call, but I'll call from home. I can't give away my identity as a spy," Max said quietly in Maxine's ear as his beady brown eyes surveilled the place.

"Dad," Maxi said.

"Yes, Maxine."

"I think that's already been done."

"Why?"

"Because you already took a phone call while you sat here with some of the other parents. They kind of eyed you like you're a little…you know…nuts," Maxine whispered back to her dad.

Max looked around and smiled a helpless smile then taking Maxi's hand in his proceeded to walk nonchalantly to their car.

Part Two

Finally coming home was another chore that Max disliked when he knew his wife was not there to kiss him hello. Don't get Max wrong. He loved seeing his children and was glad to see them all safe and sound in the house. However, his nest was never quite right without his female bird warming it.

Maxi went immediately upstairs to take a shower. After saying hello to his two sons and finding out what was for dinner. Max went upstairs to his study and sat at his desk to make his phone call. Instead of reaching for his shoephone he used the phone on his mahogany desk. He dialed 99's room number and was somewhat distressed to hear the phone constantly ring. After trying two more times, he called the boutique where she was working undercover. No answer. It was now 5:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, and she said she would be closing early today because of her meeting with the KAOS agent today at 7:00 p.m. Pacific coast time. Max hated time changes. It boggled his mind that in one place it was 8:30 p.m. and at another it was not even dinner time yet.

The last attempt to contact her was on the fingernail phone. That, to Max, was the worse invention CONTROL had ever invented. It looked far more stupid than his shoephone and the reception was usually horrible. Besides it was too conspicuous for female agents. He much preferred the compact phone or the even the atomizer communicator for contact with his female agent wife.

Surprisingly, Max received an answer.

"Max?" 99 asked weakly. She knew he would be eventually calling because she forgot to call before she was pistol whipped.

"99? Is that you? Are you all right?" Max asked panicked.

"I'm fine, love," 99 responded weakly hoping she could fool Max into thinking everything was ok. She wanted to say to him:

"_I'm a prisoner of KAOS. I'm not shackled, but I'm in a cell and they took my gun and my knife."_

"Why do you sound so weak? Are you all right?"

She could tell Max was hitting panic mode just by the harried tone of his voice. She had to keep him in the dark because it was her duty. The Chief would send backup as soon as the drop did not happen at 10:00 pm California time.

"I was taking a nap. I think I may be I'm catching a cold. I'm not feeling well," 99 said. "I'll be fine. I cancelled my meeting with Tara because the drop isn't happening tonight."

There she lied to Max for the first time in her life. However, it was for all their sakes and it could not be helped. She only hoped she lived long enough to rectify the situation when she got home.

"Well, I miss you. The kids miss you, too. I better let you get your rest. I love you," Max said with a kiss over the phone.

"I love you, too. I miss you all so very much. I'll be home soon," 99 hung up her nails. She hoped to be home soon anyway.

99 had just enough time to place her hands behind her back before one of her captors opened the cell door. 99's head had been down as she was rubbing the back of her neck where the pistol butt had hit her. As she looked up she was surprised to see a familiar face.

"Roskovski? What are you doing here? I thought you had retired from this life long ago when you married Tara." 99 asked shocked at who the KAOS agent was. Andrei Roskovsi, a Polish-Russian KAOS agent had once been a ruthless killer and one of the best for KAOS, though, he could give the impression of someone honest, downtrodden, and in need of sympathy. As 99 found out personally, Andrei could disguise his true self very well. Just like his captive one-time intimate acquaintance.

"Yes, Mrs. Smart…99," Andrei said not disguising the fact that he was examining her either has a lamb to the slaughter or as a conquest. Andrei Roskovski , a large man with chiseled features, large brown eyes and a sensuous mouth, lurched forward and stood directly in front of 99 invading her personal space. He was so close to her that she could smell his cologne and feel tremendous heat from his body. She looked up into his eyes, trying to find a trace of the man she to whom she had been attracted. He still possessed those large brown sympathetic eyes in which she had found herself more than once drowning. He still possessed the body of a Greek god, and she found herself wanting to be held against that strong chest in those strong arms where she had once been made to feel safe and loved. However, it did not take long for 99 to remember what heartless and ruthless person he truly was and how he had seduced Tara while still claiming to be her boyfriend.

"So, I see that dolt, Maxwell Smart, is your husband. No doubt you are happy and have produced some half doltish offspring along with it. You are still a beautiful woman, 99. I could easily forgive you for your mistake. KAOS could use a smart female agent like yourself. When I heard of your marriage, I laughed and thought how willingly you compromised yourself. He is a clod. You should have stayed with me. You and I would have made a terrific team. KAOS would have awarded us medals, a private summer Villa in Italy and cash. Lots and lots of cash," Andrei said in a sinister voice with little of his original Russian accent left. A dozen years in the United States and marriage to Tara had almost completely driven it from him.

"Max is not a clod, and I resent what you said about our children. Maxwell Smart is an honest and loving man and much more than anyone else in or out of KAOS would ever know. At least we love each other which more than I can say for you and Tara. She didn't deserve what you did to her. I didn't deserve what you did to me. As for KAOS awards, we don't need them. I especially never needed them. Was it us that you were thinking of when you seduced and eventually married Tara? I know you're divorced now. Tara was my best friend at CONTROL... but I suppose you were too good a lover for her to be strong and not fall into your trap. Max and I have always been a great team for CONTROL. If we weren't why are you so hell bent on tearing us apart?" 99 asked wanting nothing more than to be at home with her husband and children.

"Let's forget all this family stuff, shall we?" Andrei said reaching out and pulling 99 into his arms and forcefully kissed her.

99 slapped Andre fiercely across the face. He twisted 99's arm around her back and with even greater force kissed her again. She tried to break free initially, and then as his lips and mouth moved on hers she was at once taken back to the time when Max was just a distant desire and her intimacy with Andrei was her salve. Well, 99 did not need a salve now. She had Max and her children all waiting at home for her as soon as she completed the mission. She had never cheated on Max, and she was not about to start now.

"Get away from me!" 99 shouted breaking off from Andrei's kiss and slapping him in the face on the other side. She went to knee him in the groin but Andrei accustomed to women's reactions backed away pushing 99's knee away which caused her to lose her balance sending her to the floor in a heap.

Coming over to help her up, Roskovski had the audacity to capturing her wrists and held her hands away from him and forced another kiss upon her mouth. Not breaking his fierce grip on her wrists, he pushed her with his body onto the cot where 99 had awakened before she contacted Max. Andrei continued to kiss her forcing her mouth open to receive his tongue. As he kissed her Andrei kept her pinned to the cot. He thought 99 had started to fall into his spell again like she had all those times when they were together. He started to undo her blouse and started to inch up her skirt with his insistent movements. Andrei looked deeply into her eyes and thought that she had finally succumbed to his male prowess and forget her idiot husband and whining children. He knew they were still hot for one another and all her protestations about how much she loved Maxwell Smart were just a cover for her true feelings.

Meanwhile, 99 had temporarily forgotten who she was for a minute and found herself wanting his kisses to go deeper and wanting Andrei to take her forcefully as he had done once before so many years ago. She responded by pulling him closer. She suddenly opened her eyes from his intense maneuvers and a facet of her diamond engagement ring glimmered before her eye as it reflected the dim light of the cell. Thoughts of her husband's handsome face brought her back to who she was now and why she had come on the mission in the first place. She suddenly gathered enough strength to shove him off her and send him flying before his aggressiveness had seduced 99 into becoming a woman that she never wanted to be.

"You bastard!"

"You wanted it! Didn't you?" Andrei said as he got himself up from the floor wiping the side of his mouth where 99's kiss had lingered.

"You're wrong! I could never want another man especially after what you did to me before!" 99 was furious. She tried to push her way past him to get to the door, but this time he intensely grabbed her upper arm as she swept past catching her before she could escape through the open cell door.

"Look, 99, I apologize. Let me help you. I know why you were brought here. I can help you escape. Let me help you return to your family," Andrei said quietly this time and loosening his grip on her upper arms lowered it to her wrist and held it gently.

"Is this a trick Andrei? Because I would much rather fight my way out of here instead of looking like a former lovesick fool," 99 said facing him. Andrei had released her wrist and they stood face to face. Andrei was a little taller than 99, so she had to raise her chin slightly to look into his eyes.

"Are you telling me the truth this time? Will you let me go and do what I came here to do?"

Andrei took her hand in his and led her to the cot and urged her to sit.

"Listen, there is not much time. I fought my way here because the CIA sent me after The Chief of Control did not get your instructions about the drop."

"CIA?" 99 asked very puzzled. "You're with the CIA?"

"Yes. Remember when we were together I married Tara and became a defector to KAOS' Soviet division. Tara is still with KAOS. I became an American citizen and work for the CIA now."

"Really? Then why were you badmouthing Max and our children? That was intolerable," 99 asked not quite believing Andrei's story. He had always been a good storyteller. The last story had almost convinced change her loyalties and perhaps lose the man and the job she loved.

"There are bugs in this cell; probably, so I had to make it sound good."

99 gasped audibly to where Andrei quickly put his hand over her mouth. She nodded and he released her mouth.

"Listen to me. When we get out of here, I'll explain everything. Right now, though, I need your help."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Plan

Andrei and 99 stood together in front of some rather dumbfounded KAOS agents including Tara, Andrei's ex-wife and 99 supposed friend.

"So, I see, she took the bait," Tara said holding a gun on 99 as Andrei held 99 from behind also at gunpoint. "That figures. She always wanted you from the start and couldn't take it when you married me. Good work, love." Tara walked up to 99 and slapped her across her cheek maliciously. Tara, who was not as tall as 99, was more broad and curvy, wolloped 99 with a hard slap to the face. Tara's forceful slap almost brought 99 to her knees. Andrei held 99 up more erectly. If this was going to work then 99 was going to have to be tougher than she ever had to be in the past. Andrei had followed her career with Max and knew that if Tara could be tough then 99 was tougher.

99 snickered. "Is that all you got? It seems KAOS didn't know they seduced a creampuff to work for them."

Tara smirked. She had had her back to her ex-husband and ex-best friend. She turned around and with a crook of her finger the two dumb-looking KAOS agents grabbed Andrei and forced him back against the wall of the room. They stripped him of his firearm with which he had been holding 99 against her back.

"So, you see, Andrei, I'm not that stupid CONTROL agent you seduced and abandoned to worm her way to the top with KAOS brass. I heard everything you said. Kill him, boys."

"Wait a minute, boys!" 99 shouted startling the muscle with her noise.

"Hands up, Tara!" 99 said as she came closer to towering over Tara holding her captive with her own Smith &Wesson which Andrei had surreptitiously returned to her.

"I think you should let the boys let Andrei go before I shoot the lot of you. You see, I want to go home. I think I may have some exciting news for my husband and I don't want to spoil it by returning in a pinebox. You understand?"

Tara with hands raised waiting until 99 came close enough and then fought with her for possession of the gun. Tara was a strong girl, but 99 had the height advantage and leverage. They struggled for a small time while Andrei fought the two KAOS goons. Andrei received the goons' swats which was leading them into a weakened position. When the time was right he then drew his gun which was then summarily karate-chopped out of his hand. The gun went flying past 99 as she struggled with Tara. This drew Tara's attention away from the matter at hand. 99 took advantage of the moment and regained her gun immediately shooting Tara in the stomach.

Tara fell to the floor holding her stomach. 99 regathered her wits while Andrei laid out both the goons. As Andrei settled the unconscious guys against the wall of the cell, 99 knelt before Tara.

"I'm sorry, Tara. I never wanted it to come to this. You were always my friend. I didn't want to be the one to come after you, but the Chief sent me because we were friends once. Try to understand," 99 said trying to staunch the blood with her hands as it flowed from Tara's gunshot wound.

Tara's eyes misted over and a teardrop escaped down the side of her face.

"It's not your fault. I knew this whole scientist thing was wrong. I knew CONTROL would send you. I picked the wrong side…and the wrong friends. Go home. It's ok…" Tara said looking into 99's tearful blue eyes.

"Ta.., she's gone, " 99 announced to Andrei who stood in front of her. Ignoring the blood sticking to her fingers, 99 held Tara in her arms and could do nothing but kneel there and think momentarily of all the things she and Tara had shared as CONTROL agents and best friends. Tara had always known how much 99 loved Max. Tara had been the first one 99 told when she knew she was in love with Max. When 99 contrived to become Max's partner, Tara was the one who told her not give up. Tara told her that although Max had never said anything for years that he was as much in love with her as she was with him. Gathering her once best friend in her arms, 99 rocked back and forth with Tara cradled in her arms. Tara's blood was on 99 hands and splotched all over 99's clothes. Eventually after a silent vigil, 99 looked up into Andrei's blanched face.

Andrei helped 99 to her feet and told her to go back to the hotel. He would come later and they would discuss how they should now solve the case. It would not now go down as planned. If 99 and Andrei could figure out where they stashed the scientists then they could determine how to solve the case. 99 had been here for only a few days, but she was weary of this mission. It was odd for 99 who had known death, seen death, and even caused death in her profession that the shock never faded. One minute there is a living breathing person before you, and in the next moment there was nothing left of a life but a shell of a person sometimes bloodied or burned beyond recognition. 99 deseperately wanted to go home. She longed to be with the man and the lives their love created. Not death. 99 had been in and out of the game too much these days.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The New Plan

After Andrei had seen 99 back to the hotel, 99 contacted the Chief. It was late back in Washington, but she knew he would be up and waiting for a phone call.

"Chief. It's 99," 99 said in a relieved voice to find him answering his phone.

"99? Where've you been? What's been happening? I've been worried. I knew the drop was tonight, but when I didn't get a call I kept imagining the worst."

"There's been a change in plans. The drop didn't quite work as planned. It seems the CIA has been operating secretively on this as well. I met with one of their operatives."

The Chief took the receiver away from his ear temporarily and stared at it. What was she talking about? As far as the Chief knew no one other agency had been briefed. He and Max had met with the CIA Chief who had decided in their presence that this particular mission originated with CONTROL personnel and, therefore, should remain with CONTROL personnel.

"99, are you sure?"

"Yes, I knew the operative…intimately," she finished.

Chief still not believing what she had been saying asked her again to clarify.

99 did just that. She explained how Andrei had once been her fiancé and had married Tara after 99 had married Max. She also explained how Andrei had had not only a professional interest in the mission, but he had a personal interest as well.

Chief told 99 to abort the mission that Andrei was not really who he pretended to be. That he was probably really a KAOS operative or worse a Communist renegade with his own vendetta. First thing in the morning Chief was definitely obtaining some intelligence on this Andrei Roskosvski.

"Well, Chief, there's Andrei now. We are discussing new plans to extract the scientists. I will make contact later."

Chief hesitated. "Good night, then, 99. Good Luck and, above all, be careful!"

"I will. Tell Max I'm ok."

"Sure," Chief stated very hesitantly.

99 clicked the phone off but kept the receiver in her hand as she answered the door. Andrei Roskosvski stood there in all his magnficient male beauty. He had brushed his blonde hair and parted it to the side. His fine chiseled features with his dark intense eyes focused on his former fiancée with no deceit of what he thought of how she looked after all these years. He was dressed in black from head to toe which allowed his shoulders and narrow hips stand out. He was a little taller than 99 so she had to look up to meet his gaze.

"So, 99, you did wait for me," Andrei said as he backed 99 into the room.

"Of course, I waited. What do you think I was going to do? The assignment is not completed. I was just on the phone with the Chief to let him know the change of plan." 99 backed up has Andrei strode in through the door. Something did not feel quite right. 99 thought _He is definitely not acting the way he did back in the cell. Could the Chief be correct after all? _She attempted to keep the worry out of her face.

Suddenly Andrei pulled a gun with a silencer on it and stuck it into 99's ribs.

"I thought you were smarter than that, Mrs. Smart," said the fake-Andrei. "My, your feelings for your former fiancée must be stronger than you thought. It was an easy ruse then to fool you."

"Andrei, what are you talking about? What's the gun for? Cover?" 99 asked pleadingly as she backed away and sank as her knees bumped the side of the bed.

"Why don't you listen to your Chief, Mrs. Smart?"

As she looked at Andrei and seeing the words coming out of his mouth she knew now for certain that this was not Andrei because the voice which at once had been so sensual and seductive now became rough, abrupt, and carried a thick Russian accent. As she fell to the bed her hands extended to the other bedside table where the hard telephone set stood. With both hands she reached back and slammed the set onto Andrei's head. Still clad in bloodstained clothes and suffering from terrible nausea and nerves, 99 escaped from her hotel room into the lobby and out the door. As she looked back, she saw the fake Andrei holding his head where a black and blue bump was forming.

99 ran until her breath was ragged and her legs collapsed. Lying down in a temporary resting place in an adjacent hotel, 99 gathered her thoughts together. She remembered her compact phone in her pocket and quickly dialed CONTROL's number.

"Chief!"

"99!" The Chief exclaimed when heard 99's breathy voice on the other end of the line. "I have been worried sick. Are you all right?"

"Not for long. I managed to get away from the fake Andrei, but I am afraid I am going to have to abort the mission. My cover's been blown and there is another complication which I do not think you are going to like."

"Whatever it is, 99, don't worry. If they are onto you there is nothing else you can do. Contact local CONTROL and get shelter. I will take care of the mission and the fake Andrei from this end. That's an order, 99!" Chief said and hung up.

99 sat up and started to cry. She talked to herself. _Agents don't cry! Just because I may be pregnant does not mean I break down. If only Max were here…well then I would have to worry and think for the both of us._

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she proceeded to contact the local CONTROL headquarters and implored them to hurry. Forty minutes later she was headed to the airport with an early reservation for a flight back home.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

99's Failure and Triumph

Before boarding the plane home, 99 sat in the airport terminal arguing with herself and also amazed that she was able to go home at last. _Well, I failed for once in my life, but Chief understood. Now Andrei or the fake Andrei is still on the loose and the scientists are still being held captive. I know the Chief sent another female agent probably the former Natasha Boulvinaya or Larissa Bulifant as she is now known. She at least isn't married to anybody. Now I will have to do one of the worst things in my life….lie to my husband. I canot let Max know how much danger I was in or that I had suspected I was pregnant while I was on the mission. If the Chief lets anything slide, Max will force me into retirement and I do not really want to do that. It will be soon enough after this one is born. I am looking forward to going home, though. I hope everyone ate well. I know how they are when I am not home._

Part 2

The Debriefing

There was a car waiting for her when she arrived back in Washington.

"Hi Larabee," said 99 when she spot who the driver was.

"Hi ya, 99. Boy we have missed you around here," responded Larabee.

"Well, I missed being here. Mission did not go to well in case the Chief had not told you."

"He mentioned it but no details. I am to take you right to headquarters so you can be debriefed. Then you can catch a cab home."

"Thanks, Larabee."

The remainder of the trip was silent as the car wended its way through the DC traffic.

Upon arriving at CONTROL, 99 alighted from the vehicle and pretended to pay Larabee as she would any other cab driver. The door of the cab closed and Larabee summarily drove off swiftly. With a deep breath and picking up of her luggage, 99 entered CONTROL's secret underground entrance and went straight to the Chief.

Part 3

Chief

"99, I am so glad to see you alive!" Chief said as he hugged 99 tightly. "I know someone else who will be happy to see you alive and well."

"Max?"

"Of course, Max! He has not stopped calling me since you left pumping me for information."

"What did you tell him?"

"Well, you know he knows the routine. I did not have to explain much. Come, sit down, 99, and let me tell you of the latest developments."

99 did as she was told and sat down in the brown chair in front of the Chief's desk. He sat down and opened a folder and began to read the transcripts of the reports made so far. 99 had not had time to complete her last report yet. The last 24 hours had been consumed with escaping and making it home safely.

"I would like to apologize for my failure, Chief. Tara was killed you know."

"Yes, I know, 99. It was not a failure. In the last 24 hours the local CONTROL agents were able to pick up the trail that the fake Andrei had left. All the scientists are now back in a secret CONTROL location awaiting departure for the homelands."

"Oh, I am so glad, Chief! So I am not on suspension or anything for failing?"

"Nonsense. However, I am sending you home for a good two weeks rest. Max has a surprise waiting for you at home."

"Well, I think I have one for him, too. If there is nothing else, Chief, I am going to get to my office and drop some stuff off. Then, I am gratefully getting into my car and going home to my husband and children."

"No problem, 99. ….99?" The Chief said as he rose from his seat and came around the desk. He put each of his hands on 99's upper arms and looked sincerely into her baby blue eyes.

"I am so glad you are home. When I had to send you on this mission, I felt like I was sending my own daughter to her death."

"Thank you, Chief," responded 99 lowering her eyes. She kissed the Chief on his cheek and then left his office.

99 walked the short distance to the office she shared with Max. She unlocked the door and could immediately detect her husband's sandalwood aftershave scent. She ran her hand lightly over Max's desk and noticed a fresh report on what his latest mission had been. She walked over to her desk on the other side of the room and plopped her file on top. In the morning she would come back and type her report. She picked up the picture of Max she kept on her desk and kissed it. _I'll be home soon. I have missed you, Max. _

She put down the picture, closed the door behind her as she left. All she could think in her mind as she ventured to her car in the secret CONTROL parking lot: _Max, my love, I'm home and boy have I got a surprise for you!_


End file.
